Carlos Franco. Por el lomo de un paisaje con patas

CentroCentro, in the Palacio de Cibeles in Madrid, hosts an exhibition devoted to the painting of Carlos Franco, with recent works and pieces from the last fifteen years. The show traces his pictorial output and his drawing notebooks.

The exhibition brings together, in the rooms of CentroCentro, a selection of studio paintings and recent creations by Madrid-born painter Carlos Franco, who has devoted more than six decades to his craft. The itinerary also includes works made over the last fifteen years, so that visitors can follow the evolution of his work up to his current creative moment.

Pencil and paper remain, according to the exhibition itself, the starting point of his work. The material on show includes his personal sketchbooks, in which everyday observation, such as the cracks in an urban pavement, can end up becoming a composition. His paintings are characterised by an intense use of colour and the recurring presence of mythological narratives.

One of the most striking features of the exhibition is his work with scissors. Carlos Franco has cut up several canvases that were originally large-format in order to transform them into smaller pieces. The decision refers to the cut suffered by La conspiración de Claudius Civilis, by Rembrandt, and reflects his intention to keep only the essential of painting.